Heart of My Heart
by The Quiet Woman
Summary: <html><head></head>Based on the 2003 anime. Captured by a pioneer of an insidious new crime ring, Atom vanishes from the face of the earth. Everyone goes to great lengths to rescue him, only for the boy to wander back home out of the blue, carrying with him a great deal of sorrow, distrust and the misery of memory loss. Family/Adventure/Hurt/Comfort/Drama/Romance/Character Death</html>
1. Where The Heart Is

Long hours slowly expelled the dark night. The roads were bleak and unforgivingly hard under each step. At this point, suffering wasn't an uncharted plain.

The sun was just beginning to rise, but the sky threatened to rain. A chilling breeze carried the smell of its inevitable arrival as it flew by. The light filtering through the clouds dulled the colors of the city. Everything was shrouded in yellowish-gray.

The city felt as lifeless as it looked. At this early hour, of course it would seem that way. Whispering sounds hung on the wind, of people passing through their dreams.

Vague instinct had dragged him here, and kept pushing him onward. A small collection of ghostly memories drifted through his mind. Faintly, he could remember random words from familiar yet unknown voices, playing in his ears like a fuzzy, garbled message.

The faint warmth of an old embrace came out of the air, wrapping itself around him, as thinly as a vapor. The memory of it was so real, he could almost feel it. He raised his arms up and hugged himself. Because he was physically unable to return the warm gesture, given to him from someone in his forgotten past. Like an old, worn memento, always kept close, it often brought comfort to him in dark hours.

When he looked up, he was limping into the driveway of a house in the suburbs. The lights were on. It vibrated with life inside. A girl was singing. Someone was humming along beside her.

Keeping a hand against the walls, he steadied himself and made his way around to the kitchen window. Thunder clapped overhead as he peered through the glass. The girl was standing on a stepping stool while she worked at the counter. There was a bulky yellow robot next to her pressing some dough. The song had softly ended. Now they were laughing, sharing jokes with one another. Listening in made his whole body feel warm, even as the cold rain began gushing down from above.

Without even thinking about it, he went back to the front door and went in. The wind became violent as he tried to shut the door behind him, so it went back with a *_slam!_*

"Back already Dr. Ochanomizu? Did you forget something?" shouted the giggling girl.

Apparently they weren't surprised and went about their work undisturbed.

"Your files are still on the table, sir!" called the robot.

Their chatter continued as he inched into the entrance. He stood under the wide archway, watching them silently. The sound of their voices was so comforting, it felt impossible to move.

Unavoidably, within the next few minutes, they looked back. Being a stranger in someone else's home, he expected either one to scream or throw him out. Instead they just stared at him, stunned. The girl's eyes were wide open and unmoving, totally focused on him. The human eye is always moving, which his superior pair could pick up on, but this girl's weren't. They were directly looking into his. Also, she was standing completely and totally still, also something beyond human capability. She looked so much like a human, but was clearly a robot. Instead of being amazed he felt a strange sense of familiarity. It was as if he'd seen her before.

"I forgot my papers again!" a man yelled as he opened the front door.

The wind hadn't slowed down so he too had to close it with a *_slam!_*

"It's a mess out there! Maybe I ought to check the weather before I head out again."

The man didn't look up until it was almost too late. He nearly tripped when he stopped in front of their little intruder. He had the same staggered look on his face.

"...A... A-Atom?" he whispered.

That was one of the words playing in his remaining memory banks.

..._Atom_...

He had no idea that it was a name, least of all his. A rushing feeling of relief swept over him. _Someone_ recognized him. _Someone_ knew who he was. He _belonged_ to somebody.

The man fell on his knees, giving Atom a better look at his face. He was a man who looked to be in his early sixties with slate-colored eyes. A long, round nose rested beneath them. He had a square jaw underneath a chubby layer of skin, which nearly concealed his chin, giving his face a more rounded shape. His head was mostly bald, but what hair remained was thick, fluffy, and white.

Atom couldn't help himself. He reached out and poked the man's large nose. Afterwards he was instantly horrified at what he'd done, but the man just laughed. The tears brimming in his eyes fell as he threw his arms out around the long-lost boy.

"_I remember this_," Atom thought.

He'd always had this hazy memory, the sensation of these very arms holding him.

"_Yes, this is what I was looking for_."


	2. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful Tuesday evening when it all began. There was a big science test coming up, so the four boys spent a good deal of time in their tree house studying. After a couple of hours went by, Shibugaki started craving an ice cream cone. Since it was nearly six, Tamao and Kenichi decided they wanted one too.

"Coming, Atom? I'm buying." Kenichi said while he was stuffing his book bag.

Already packed, Atom slung his back pack on and answered, "No thanks. It'd be hard to clean out my chest cavity later. I think I'll head home now."

A chill went down Shibugaki's spine. He shivered when he said: "Don't talk like that, Atom. It creeps me out."

Tamao laughed at him. "He's a robot, Shibugaki! What do you expect?"

"I know! It just doesn't sound right," Shibugaki snapped back.

As soon as he said it, he realized that it sounded kind of offensive. Immediately he turned to Atom and apologized, but of course his friend hadn't taken it personally. Rolling his eyes, Atom said reassuringly, "You'd have to do better than that, Shib."

At the bottom of the latter, the boys said goodbye and went their separate ways.

The sky was a lovely mix of orange and pink when Atom stopped at a crosswalk. Waiting for the signal to change, his eyes roved the sky. His eyes fell on a shop across the street. In the window he saw a beautiful music box on display. It was small, round, and made of glass with gold etchings of wildflowers around it.

The top was open, reflecting the sunset in the mirror inside.

He zoomed in on it to check the price tag. Fortunately they didn't want too much for it.

Over the past three weeks he'd been saving for a birthday present for Uran. It was her first birthday so he wanted it to be special.

When the signal changed he flew across the street and into the store.

For a little extra, the cashier wrapped it for him in metallic pink paper. She didn't charge him for the white silk ribbon she tied around it.

Securing the big poofy bow, she smiled and said: "This'll make a wonderful birthday present."

With Uran's gift tucked under his arm, Atom strolled down the sidewalk, still admiring the sky. There were golden clouds floating by, radiant beams of light shooting out around their edges.

He was almost home when a strange moth flew into his face.

Atom stopped and tried to fan it away with no luck. It wouldn't budge, sitting firmly on the bridge of his nose.

It was a very light shade of green with ruby-red eyes and long feathery antennae. Its wings were translucent, having a spot of white on both of them. Glittering powder was stuck to its entire body, shimmering beautifully in the day's last rays of light.

As much as Atom liked looking at it, he wanted to get home and hide Uran's music box.

This time he shook his head violently. Again, it wouldn't fly off.

Before he could do much else about it, the moth emitted an ear-splitting screech, efficiently paralyzing Atom. He hit the pavement, dropping Uran's present as he fell. Hearing her first birthday present break, made him want to bust up who ever it was doing this to him.

The moth finally fluttered away, but only to crawl inside his ear. The last thing Atom felt before he shut down, was the intense urge to claw his own eyes out.

* * *

><p>When Dr. Ochanomizu got the call he was in the middle of an important meeting. After Ms. Yuko whispered the news into his ear, he tore out of the room like a bat out of hell. They went straight to his office where he discussed the situation with inspector Tawashi.<p>

"We're doing everything we can to locate the perpetrator, but there's not much to go on," the inspector informed. "Luckily your neighbor was robbed last month, so he put up security cameras."

He pointed up at the large screen above the door where they had the video ready to play. Ms. Yuko pressed a few buttons on Momo's keypad, and the doctor watched what happened only a few hours ago.

The camera was directed over the front yard, but the sidewalk and part of the street was in range. There Atom was, so close to home it put a pain in Dr. Ochanomizu's chest.

He started out fine, but then he stopped. Something had soared straight into his face. He tried very hard to get it off. Seconds later, he suddenly fell sideways onto the road. Not one minute later than that, a strange car drove up beside him. When the door opened a masked man reached out, grabbed his arm and pulled him inside all while the car was still moving. And that was it. In under five minutes Atom was gone.

"As you can see, we're going to have some trouble identifying the driver, but we blew up the footage around Atom's face," inspector Tawashi said, nodding to Ms. Yuko.

A few more taps on the keypad brought a close up of the moth on the screen. It played in slow motion, showing a short spasm of pain on Atom's face. After he fell lifelessly on the ground, Dr. Ochanomizu agonizingly watched the moth crawl in the boy's left ear. Not long after, his eyes went dark before filling with static.

"Obviously, the moth is a machine. I was hoping maybe you would recognize it or run it through your database."

Ms. Yuko watched the doctor anxiously. He'd been quiet this whole time, trying to put his mind to good use before it was too late.

Then suddenly, he thought of something.

"I've seen this before," he announced certainly. "There's a Dr. Lindolph from a little village called Grotta. He created something similar. His specialty was camouflage bombs, specifically little deceiving mechanical bugs with big explosives. It's the same design."

The inspector snapped his fingers.

"That's right!" he said. "Dr. Lindolph's research was strictly for military purposes only, but was later caught selling his "bug bombs" and other such items on the black market. He narrowly escaped authorities and is still on the loose. I can only guess what he wants with Atom."

* * *

><p>It was dark when Atom regained consciousness. The damage to his ocular receivers made everything fuzzy and unfocused, but he could still see light and colors. Fortunately there was nothing wrong with his hearing.<p>

He tried to move but his electronic nervous system had taken some damage too. When he moved his left arm his right leg twitched. If he extended his index fingers his shoulders would raise up.

"Ah, you're awake."

Atom didn't respond, lying perfectly still, trying to determine where the unknown man was.

"Sorry about the rough manner of your_ invitation_, but I couldn't take no for an answer."

Strange foot steps inched towards him from behind.

***Stomp***_Drag_***Stomp***_Drag_***Stomp***_Drag_*

By the sound of it, the man had a bad leg and was wearing some heavy boots.

"What do you want?" Atom finally asked.

The man was standing next to him now. All Atom could see of him was a fluffy gray head.

Warm, shallow breaths fell on his face, smelling of whisky.

"Don't concern yourself with that."

Atom jerked, trying to sit up but only flailing like a fish out of water.

"I'm going to find a way out of here!" he declared.

The man laughed heartily and said: "You'll leave when I'm finished!" He stepped out of sight and a ruckus started at the other end of the room. Something clattered on the floor, probably nuts or bolts or tools maybe. Then the shrill sound of a drill went off, sending waves of fear through Atom's mind. The drill came closer and closer, made eerier by the odd accompanying foot steps. All he could do was flop around, still unable to control his body. A large hand stilled him, pressing down on his chest. The drill was next to his ear now, still screaming like a small tortured animal.

"Now Atom," the man hissed hatefully. "We can do this the easy way… or the hard way… Which is it?"

Atom managed to throw his fist out. Miraculously he hit something. It was a pleasure to hear a loud painful grunt. He lifted his head up slightly and answered boldly, "The hard way."


	3. Chapter 2

"Thank you, doctor."

"Thanks, doc."

"See you next week."

"Have a great weekend."

"Thanks again."

"Goodbye, I hope to see you all at our next group meeting on Monday. Nine o'clock sharp!"

Dr. Nakamura shut and locked the door after her last patient went out. All the robots waved as they split off in directions as different as their models. When she closed the blinds on the door, she caught sight of her dim reflection in the glass. The bags under her eyes were getting worse, but she had the whole weekend to catch up on her sleep.

Looking up at her hair, she painfully remembered that it was still tightly wound into a bun, hence the stress headache.

Tiredly, she reached up to undo her long ebony hair. While she was at it, she took off her earrings, unfastened the first two buttons on her shirt and then kicked off her heels to put on her running shoes. She shrugged her coat on as went to get her purse from behind the reception desk. Her assistant, Reona, came back for hers too.

She was a simply built, but beautiful, robot. Nearly all her outer shell was light metallic pink. Her body appeared as though modeled after a wooden mannequin, and moved much like one too. Her delicate white face was made of rubber to show her emotions. The rest of her head was red and went back into a dull tip.

She had on a navy blue skirt, a white T-shirt and a pink sweater with matching high heels. The style she wore wasn't very modern, but looked nice all the same.

In her high-pitched, buzzing voice, she asked, "Any plans doctor?"

Dr. Nakamura grinned, shaking her head.

"The only thing I want to do is have a nice big glass of wine on the couch."

Reona smiled back and replied, "I'm sure it will be lovely."

They turned the lights off, locked the door and went their separate ways after a quick goodbye.

Walking through the busy city in the gentle rainfall, Dr. Nakamura soaked in the sweet smells from the bake shop as she went by. Gripping her umbrella handle tightly, she sadly reminded herself of her new diet. A few determined, brisk paces later, she gave in and turned directly back.

Now carrying a white paper bag under her arm, she snacked on some chocolate baumkuchen on a stick. The first one was so good, she had to go back and buy five more.

"I'll make up for it tomorrow," she told herself as she started on her third.

Half way to her apartment, twilight breaking through the parting clouds, she saw a boy sitting at the street corner, slouching atop a soggy box. The rain had soaked him head to toe, but he didn't look too concerned about it. His caramel eyes were stuck on his hands, palms turned up and hanging off his bony knees. He was thin and rather tall for the age of his face. The wet hair fallen against his brow was long, stringy and dark, dark brown. It was stuck to the sides of his long face over his small ears, framing its tear drop shape.

"Are you alright?" she found herself asking. "Do you need any help?"

The boy shook his head, eyes still staring at his hands.

She looked at her treat and instantly wondered when he last ate. Crouching slightly, she held out the paper bag within his sight.

"Are you hungry?"

This time he raised his head, looking straight at her face. His eyes suddenly flashed auburn and glowed. Semi transparent statistic screens overlapped his enlarging pupils, with various others, at an amazing speed.

Astonished, the doctor stepped back. He looked just like a poor, normal human boy, wearing worn clothes too small for him. Apparently he was an extremely sophisticated robot, who was checking to see if she was a threat or not.

When he'd finished within the next minute, his eyes went back to normal.

"No," he said with a small, quiet voice.

The boy pushed himself up off the box, shoving his hands in his pockets as he began to walk away. Curious, Dr. Nakamura went after him as he was going around the corner, but by the time she got there he was already gone.

* * *

><p>It was five o'clock in the morning when her weary mind forced her out of bed. Her work was never done.<p>

It'd only been a year since she opened her mental health clinic for robots, and already she had more patients than funds. Running almost entirely off donations was barely keeping them afloat. Most of the robots who came to see her had little to no money to pay for their sessions.

If juggling the bills wasn't enough, she was the only psychiatrist there. She couldn't afford to bring anyone else on, and not one of her many friends and colleagues were willing to join her cause. Mostly because there wasn't any money in it. Not yet anyway. Besides that, no one else could see the need for her services.

_They're robots. If something's wrong with their mental state it can be repaired. They're not like humans. They don't need _treatment_._

Many times, in many different ways, she'd been told that over the past three years. Even before she started practising in AI mental health, she spent a great deal of time experimenting with these self-aware machines, exploring how the free thinking AI processes emotions. Of course they need treatment!

The kettle sang the same tune it did every morning while she sat at her kitchen table, pouring over notes, patients' files and bills.

Steeping the tea, she wondered where her missing patients were. Surprisingly enough, it was difficult for some robots to believe they needed psychiatric help. Some came in for a trail period of a few days to a couple of weeks, and then never returned. A number of them were serious cases too.

The gold accents on the cherry blossom china glittered in the light when she opened the cupboard. Pouring the tea, she glanced at her one of her most troubling cases.

Model KG 0018, previously an inspection robot from a growing automobile manufacturer, Kato. In the short days he visited the clinic, he had displayed egocentric and sociopathic behaviors. In his mind he was perfect, so anything he did had to be perfect. Outside opinions went unheard. That's how he lost his job at the factory.

There had been a dispute, actually a building number of disputes, about the effectiveness of his work. Some minor, but still significant, errors had gotten past him, more than once. The problems were eventually pushed to the point where finally his supervisor wanted him to undergo a few simple, minimally invasive diagnostics. KG 0018 refused. His poor supervisor was forced to fire him.

The only reason he came to her clinic was because his best and only friend had dragged him there. His friend, LG 002, was a patient at the time. He was struggling with Atelophobia. Opposites _must_ attract!

She turned on the news as she began sipping on her second cup. Still looking over her files, she wasn't really paying attention, until a certain name popped up.

"_Professor Felini, world-famous zoologist, died yesterday. Reports say that he suffered a massive heart attack. He was found by his grandson laying on the kitchen floor..."_

The sound of the cup shattering on the floor made her jump back. Blankly, she stared back at the news story, shaken to the core.

She met his step son, Dr. Tozawa, in college. They'd been close friends up until he left for Crucifix island five years ago. He'd only come home recently, to spend December with the professor. It had been declared as The Month of Christmases. Dr. Tozawa had planned to make up for all the holidays he'd missed.

She was suppose to meet him next week for lunch. He was going to show off his new son, Pook. In the email he'd sent her, he explained how he'd spent his five years designing, building and raising Pook. He couldn't wait to introduce him to her.

After jumping out of her pajamas, and then throwing on some clothes, she hopped out the front door trying to put her shoes on.

Thirty minutes later she was dropping her bike in professor Felini's driveway.

Short of breath from the long ride, she rapped on the screen door. Beyond her hard breaths, she could hear slow foot steps coming up from the other side. The emerald-green door with the golden handle opened to her dear old friend's mournful face.

Dr. Tozawa was a man of average height in his late forties. His hair had remained as black and thick as when he was a college boy, but his face, with its broad chin and sharp cheekbones, was aging quickly with this fresh, crushing tragedy. Although his bright brown eyes had already become sunken from all the years peering into microscopes, magnifiers and computer screens. Also, the weight had long been gone from his face as a result of his extensive work hours. With all this plus the death of his father, the man looked like a walking corpse.

Without a word, she reached out and took him in her arms. At first he clung to her and sobbed quietly for a little while, but when they heard small, tentative footsteps, he raised his head from her shoulder.

"It's good to see you," he said, his throat paved with tear worn stones.

With a look matching his gravelly voice, he gestured for her to come inside. Nodding, she walked through, as if stepping around eggshells.

Under the light beaming in from the bay windows, there stood the little robot boy Pook. His face was round and pale with a metal cap, shaped to look like hair, atop his head. It curled over his forehead like bangs. Under its shadow, eyes matching his father's looked her over warily. The small robot was no higher than her knee, but the gleam in his eyes was a little more than intimidating. He seemed edgy and ready for trouble.

Noticing this, Dr. Tozawa introduced her to him.

"This is an old friend of mine," he said, patting the boy's shoulder as he went to sit on the sofa.

Dr. Nakamura put on a small smile while stretching out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Pook. Your father is really proud of you." That earned her a smile and he accepted the handshake.

"Nice to meet you too," he replied.

Then he crawled up to sit next to his father. A bit awkwardly, Dr. Nakamura sat down in an arm chair opposite from them.

"How are you doing?" was the inevitable question. The one Dr. Tozawa had been dreading all morning long. The moment the news hit the media he knew she'd come rushing up here, to this lonely mountain home on the outskirts of the city.

Gaze drifting to the windows, he counted the specks of dust floating in stuffy air, trying to keep calm. "We'll be alright." The tone in his voice held a sense of mystery, a long story he'd like to tell, but there was also a fringe of terror, holding it behind the tight line of his mouth.

His entire body was still, but he kept tapping his right index finger against his thigh. He was anxious and unusually quiet. Something was going on. Something awful. It went beyond the pain of loosing professor Felini. He was afraid, but of what?

Carefully, Dr. Nakamura got up and went over to the mantle. There was a cigarette case there with the professor's favorite brand. She took two out and tugged at his shoulder. "Come on, let's get some fresh air." Dr. Tozawa stifled a laugh. That's what they use to call it back in the day, before both their late parents found out that they smoked.

They went out to the veranda at the back of the house, looking out at the forest.

Having left Pook behind, she asked him, "What's wrong?"

He took a long draw and then replied, "What?"

"You're very worried about something, and you are not hiding it well."

"I'm in debt again," he admitted quietly, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

"Well, surely he left you everything. There's more than enough to pay off a few loans."

"There's only one I need to worry about."

Dr. Nakamura put her cigarette out and turned her head towards him, staring a hole into the side of his face.

"Who have you gotten involved with?" she asked.

Before the professor came along, he'd gotten into some shady crowds, trying to find financial support for his projects. By the time Felini came into the family, he'd all but sold his soul to the devil. The professor paid off all his debts and started funding his research to keep him out of trouble. With his more than generous step father paying his way, why would he go back to those kind of people?

When he didn't answer, she asked, "Do we need to call the police?"

He shook his head, took another long draw and replied, "No. I can handle it."

"If it's so simple, why are you so nervous?"

"I'm upset. My father just died."

His stamped his cigarette out. Then he opened the glass door. "I need to be alone right now." Dr. Nakamura sighed as she walked past him. While she was terribly sorry for him, she couldn't help feeling incredibly frustrated.

On her way to the front door, she dropped her business card on his coffee table. Just as she was out the door she looked back and said: "Call me if you need me."

He nodded, but didn't reply. However he did stand there until she mounted her bike and rode off. Once she was gone he went back into the living room and snatched her card off the coffee table.

"She's nice." said Pook, still sitting on the sofa.

Dr. Tozawa struck a match on the bottom of his shoe, and then lit the card on fire. As he dropped it in the fire place, he replied, "Yes, she is."

* * *

><p>Ms. Yuko brought in a steaming mug of coffee and set it on the desk. Dr. Ochanomizu had nearly nodding off by the time she returned. Working around the clock, helping the investigation however he could, had absolutely drained him. He wore the lack of sleep and proper nutrition heavily. The dark circles under his eyes had aged him tremendously. They nearly flew off his face when inspector Tawashi came in and told him the latest progress.<p>

"You've found him?!" Dr. Ochanomizu nearly shouted.

Inspector Tawashi put his hands up as if to say "down boy". Instead he said: "_Maybe_, but it's a likely possibility. We've sent the robot squad out there already."

"Why didn't you phone me as soon as you heard? I could've been there by now," Dr. Ochanomizu scolded, reaching for his blue jacket.

The inspector stopped him at the door, looking down into Dr. Ochanomizu's eyes, which were burning with anxiety.

"What if he needs my help?"

"All the necessary teams and divisions are at the scene. We don't know what to expect. Its best if you stay out of the way."

It took everything he had to keep the doctor from leaving the office.

* * *

><p>The rough landscape was unoccupied by both man and robot. Night fell on the abandoned junkyard as Delta and his team neared the secret bunker, carefully made to look like a mound of scrap. No one and nothing was standing guard. The surveillance team had confirmed that no one had gone in or out for the past 18 hours. After quickly reciting the plan to his team a second time, Delta led the way inside.<p>

The large underground room was dimly lit by the blue computer screens in the walls. The soft light fell on a crude workbench. A dismantled robot lay there, completely defaced and nearly stripped down to the skeleton. Parts were scattered everywhere.

Delta walked up on the mechanical mess. Nothing looked immediately familiar except for the electronic brain in the poor robot's chest. With horror he realized what he was looking at. He grabbed a soiled gray duffel bag off of the floor and emptied it. His teammates watched him gather up the loose pieces hurriedly.

"Don't stand there!" he barked.

It was then that they realized too what all this was. Without a word they began searching the room.

Just when they were almost finished, the room was invaded with insects. They stood there dumbfounded for a moment. Delta sprang into action when the creepy crawlies started blinking with tiny red lights.

"It's a trap!" he shouted.

He scooped up the robot while the others gathered the last few components. Then they booked it out of there and almost didn't make it. The force of the explosion pushed them into the starry sky.

Only Delta came out with damage, his right foot completely blown off. A few hitchhikers were to blame for that. He had to be supported the rest of the way back.

* * *

><p>Two weeks dragged by after Dr. Nakamura went to Felini's house. She was neither invited to the private ceremony or the state funeral for the world-renowned zoologist. Instead she showed her respects by closing the clinic that day and watching it at home.<p>

She hoped Dr. Tozawa was only offended by her untimely prying, and not keeping his distance for some other reasons.

After allowing some time to pass the funeral, she huffed up the steep road again to check on Dr. Tozawa.

This time she leaned her bike against the mailbox before going up to the house. She knocked on the door with no response. She knocked again. Again, no one answered. Just as she was going to knock once more, she noticed a note tacked to the door, just above the knob. It was folded in half. The front was signed, "To Whom It May Concern".

Suspiciously, she flipped it open. It read, "_I, Dr. Tozawa, am taking an extended vacation with my son. Please leave any important messages with my lawyer at this address_..."

She numbly read the address aloud, simply shocked. The growing fear that she had kept in the back of her mind, was now feeding terrible thoughts into her head.

"_What if he's in real trouble this time_?" she thought anxiously.

Suddenly she snapped herself out of it, caught in a whirlwind of rage. Forcefully, she tacked the notice back in place.

"Well I can't help it if he's in another mess!" she hissed quietly. "What can I do anyway?! I have enough problems as it is without worrying about him too!"

Something, maybe a twig or a small branch, cracked behind her. Immediately she turned around, the force wrapping her long hair over her eyes. While she was frantically tearing it from her face, she heard footsteps coming towards her.

The moment she could see, her heart nearly stopped. Those glowing pair of eyes, belonging to the strange robot boy, was staring straight into hers. He was the last person she expected to see here.

"It's you," she whispered in surprise.

The boy didn't reply. He just kept staring at her, surprised to see her there too.

The doctor cleared her throat. Then asked in a casual voice, "What are you doing here?"

The fear on his face was clear as his eyes dimmed back to their normal color. At first he kept silent, unsure of what to say or how much he could say.

"Do you know Dr. Tozawa?" she pressed further, inching towards him.

He backed away as she came closer, balling his hands into fists. Seeing how defensive he was, she made an attempt to gain his confidence. "It's alright. I don't want any trouble." She raised her hands, smiling as she took a few steps back. He relaxed considerably when she put some distance between them.

"Uh... I..." he began hesitantly. "I was hoping he could help me with something. He's not home?"

Dr. Nakamura shook her head and explained the note on the door. The boy became increasingly disappointed when he found out that Dr. Tozawa would be gone indefinitely. Out of nervous habit, he bit the knuckle of his right index finger.

"What'll I do now?" he asked himself sadly.

"What do you mean?" Dr. Nakamura asked, sitting on her haunches, folding her arms over her knees.

For the next few minutes, the boy thought about what to say. Before he could, his eye lids drooped as if he were drowsy.

"Oh no," he said sleepily. "I forgot to refuel."

The second after he said it, the boy collapsed face down.

Stunned, Dr. Nakamura stood up. She looked around as if something would magically occur to explain what was happening. Of course nothing did, so she went over to him.

"What in the world is going on?" she wondered as she rolled him over.

The boy's sweet sleeping face smoothed her worries away somehow.

"Well, I guess you're coming with me," she told him, putting her hand on his cheek.

Gently, she scooped him up and carried him over her shoulder.

* * *

><p>Dr. Ochanomizu gathered a team quickly and they waited at the door together. Adrenalin filled the entire room, everyone's thoughts racing. Finally one of the A.R.R.S. members, Echo, brought the battered robot, the dirty duffel bag hung over his shoulder. He raced up the Ministry's front steps with Inspector Tawashi only two steps behind him.<p>

The skeleton was delicately placed in Dr. Ochanomizu's arms. At first sight, he knew right away. Slowly, he raised his head. Crushed, he looked to Tawashi. The doctor's response extremely confused and depressed everyone.

First, Dr. Ochanomizu swallowed dryly. Then he said: "This_ isn't _Atom."


	4. Chapter 3

"I don't understand, doc," inspector Tawashi said. "Delta's never wrong."

Dr. Ochanomizu didn't take his eyes away from computer screen.

"Well, I would say he's half wrong. Anyone not familiar with Atom's detailed structure would make that mistake."

They both turned towards the little robot on the table, half restored with precision assemblers buzzing about.

Dr. Ochanomizu got up from his chair with strain. Working all these long hours, mostly hunched over keyboards, was killing his back. Giving everyone the signal to leave, he sighed deeply as he walked over to the robot. It was nearly two in the morning and he needed his staff rested for tomorrow. Everyone left with soft, quiet goodbyes.

Once they were alone, Dr. Ochanomizu explained grimly, "This robot is obviously the product of a thorough examination, but is distinctly_ not _Atom."

The inspector frowned, waiting for more information. Dr. Ochanomizu pointed to different parts of the body as he went on.

"To start, this robot was deliberately constructed without an arm cannon, lasers, jet engines and searchlights. The reason the A.R.R.S. didn't find the parts was because they weren't part of the design. This is evident in the specific way she was built."

Tawashi put a hand on the doctor's shoulder.

"Wait, what do you mean _she_?"

Answering that question made Dr. Ochanomizu a little uncomfortable. The doctor stood silent for a few moments, looking up at the ceiling with his hands folded behind his back.

"Well..." he began hesitantly.

Inspector Tawashi shook his head and waved his hands frantically, saying, "Never mind. What were you going to say?"

Shaking his head, Dr. Ochanomizu continued.

"Back on topic, the most telling difference, among the first few that caught my attention, is this modification. This makes her purpose very plain."

He opened her chest plate to reveal her brain. Below that was a large octagon shaped chamber connected to it. There were two sockets on each of its sides.

"We've determined that this is designed to house and detonate some kind of bomb. I've never seen anything like it."

Greatly alarmed, inspector Tawashi stared at him wide-eyed.

"Dr. Lindolph?"

"Most likely, inspector."

The inspector turned around, holding his chin.

"It's amazing he could do all this in less than two months."

Dr. Ochanomizu nodded, making his way over to a chair.

"This confirms all the more that he's not working alone," he said, casting his eyes to the floor.

A dreadful silence fell over the room, both thinking about Atom's situation.

"How much do you think she could tell us?" asked the inspector.

* * *

><p>Consciousness came to him in what felt like an instant. The kind face of the woman blurrily came into sight. As she became clearer, he felt the energy kicking in.<p>

"Better?" she inquired, unplugging the nozzle from his chest.

The boy sat up straight and closed his chest plate.

"Y-Yes, thank you," he replied, pulling his red hoodie back down.

Nervously, he took in his new surroundings.

He was on an incredibly soft, tan leather loveseat in a small living room, adjacent to the even smaller kitchen. The little couch was situated just in front of the high, narrow table, serving as a bar. Behind that, there was just enough space to work at the sink and stove top. He imagined the woman often had a hard time baking, seeing as there was barely enough room to open the oven door. At least the fridge was in the corner where there was ample clearance.

Dark wood cupboards lined the wall above. Through their glass doors he could see all her lovely china. The woman also had a nice collection of pastel pots and pans.

There was only one window in the humble home, right next to the door with a flower box on the sill. For some reason there weren't any flowers in it.

Just behind her face, he could see the corners of an outdated flat screen at the opposite end of the room. The television rested on a glass shelf, set on the strip of wall between the bedroom and bathroom doors. Next to it, there was a tall undecorated shoji lamp.

Her apartment was small, and it wasn't upscale, but it was clean. A homey smell of sugar cookies and tea seemed infused in the very walls.

"I'm Aika. Dr. Aika Nakamura," she introduced, regaining his full attention. "What's your name?"

"Um..." he mumbled, getting up off the couch. "I think I should leave."

In five strides he made it as far as the door, but the doctor stood up and said: "Hey! Wait a minute." His hands gripped the door knob tightly, but he kept himself from turning it.

"You know," she began, putting the energy tube on the coffee table. "These things aren't cheap. It took twelve to get you up and running, and you're not even at fifty percent."

The boy turned around timidly, raising his eyes slowly. Hands on her hips, the doctor put on a shrewd grin, narrowing her eyes just a bit.

"I think you at least owe me a name, and I'd like you to tell me how you know Dr. Tozawa."

She waited a few minutes without any promising signs. The boy's eyes darted from place to place. Suddenly he answered, "I don't know if I have a name. There isn't a model number in my data banks either."

Nodding, she leaned against the arm of the loveseat, a thoughtful look on her face. She lifted her hand, holding it out flat towards him, motioning for him to continue. Timidly, he went on.

"As to Dr. Tozawa, I don't really know how well we're acquainted. I woke up in a dumpster behind an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. After a diagnostic, I found out that my memory had been wiped."

Nodding again, she curled her hand and raised it over her mouth.

He stopped for a moment, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down as he gently swung one foot in the air.

"I've been wandering the streets, trying to figure what to do or where to go. This morning I saw Dr. Tozawa on TV in an electronics store. Then I suddenly remembered being in a dark room, watching him work on something. He was sitting at a desk with a flash light. There must've been a power outage or something.

"I did a little digging. Everyone seems to know him here, or his step father anyway. Someone at the fish market told me I could find him at professor Felini's house."

A long sigh took away the strength she had left. Hearing all this information, none of which shed any light on Tozawa's strange behavior, had drained her. She had hoped, more than she realized, for this robot to offer something more than a hazy memory.

"Alright... so you think he's your creator?"

The boy clicked his tongue, squinting slightly.

"I'm not sure. All I know is somehow we've met somewhere."

Patting her knees as she pushed herself from the couch, Dr. Nakamura exhaled sharply. She stood still for a while, worriedly going over all the facts. She was only sure of two things.

1. Dr. Tozawa hadn't left that island for the past five years.

2. He had taken out a loan and it was not from a bank.

She still couldn't figure out why he'd need to do that. What did he need to finish Pook that the wealthy professor couldn't provide?

How this robot boy fit into the picture, essentially stricken with amnesia, she could hardly fathom. Perhaps if she helped him, maybe he could tell her all about this mess.

Trying to calm her mind, she said: "I'll try asking his lawyer to have him call me, but there's no telling when he'll get back in touch."

She grabbed her red coat from the stand and threw it on. Flipping the collar up, she looked down at him exasperatedly.

"We might as well get you settled in somewhere. Come on."

She opened the door to the chilling December winds and waited for him to go out. When he hesitated she said: "Hey, you still owe me. That pretty much means you have to do what I say, right?"

Nervously he nodded, and then stepped by her awkwardly. Chuckling and shaking her head, she shut the door and locked before they headed off into town.

* * *

><p>Uran trudged through the busy streets. There were people everywhere doing their Christmas shopping, just like she was.<p>

She'd just come out of a book shop with Dr. Ochanomizu's present. The doctor was, as many of his generation are, extremely fond of old classics in their outdated hard-back form. There was a great collection at their house, lining the walls of his home office and the living room.

About four or five months ago, he had begun collecting a set of western fairy tales, published in the late 19th century. It was only one book away from being complete. She now carried the last one in a bright red paper bag

Grasping it tightly, she quietly recounted the first sentence.

"Once upon a time, a carpenter picked up a strange lump of wood one day while mending a table..."

"Uran-chan!" yelled a distant voice.

Instinctively, she turned around expecting it to be her brother. Hardly surprised but deeply disappointed, Ms. Yuko and Momo came into view. She turned around and kept walking, but at a slower pace. When they caught up, Ms. Yuko put a hand on her shoulder.

"Uran-chan, what are you doing out here by yourself? Nora's very upset."

On cue, the yellow robot's voice droned over the noisy boulevard. Uran swung her head and saw her squeezing through the shifting crowds.

She held her tongue until her nanny-bot joined them.

"I'm sorry, really. I just wanted to finish my shopping."

"You should have waited for me! I told you we'd leave as soon as I finished the laundry," Nora scolded, but her voice softened. "You know how worried we get when you go off on your own."

Uran swallowed a lump of emotion as she dropped her eyes to the pavement.

Ever since Atom's abduction, she'd been on a short leash. All she wanted was some time away from the dreary, grief ridden house, preferably alone. Everything and everyone there made her too sad. Not that her little shopping trip was helping very much either.

She lifted her head to look at the colorfully lit streets, listening to seasonal music and the sea of people as they went by.

"I just have one more person on my list," she said quietly, almost whispering.

* * *

><p>When the lights flickered on he saw the waiting room, with its faux dark wood flooring and periwinkle blue walls.<p>

The reception desk was a glass table top. A wireless computer sat upon it and a green metal filing cabinet rested underneath.

On the wall behind was a print of a famous painting, inside of a gold-edged wooden frame.

Dr. Nakamura went in the direction of her office, where she saw her patients individually. A room for group sessions was to the left of it. On the right was an open doorway with brown carpeted stairs.

She went inside the office briefly and came out with a red suede pillow.

Tugging on a little tarnished chain lit up the stair case. She went first, the boy slowly climbing the steps behind her.

They came out into a plain room. Laid on the floor was the same linoleum as down stairs, but with white walls and a matching tiled ceiling.

Apparently this roomed served as an attic, but was equipped to be an apartment.

There was a kitchenette, two bedrooms, the living room they stood in and a small bathroom.

"This use to be a noodle shop," the doctor explained, pushing and pulling boxes aside.

She uncovered a yellow chaise lounge chair, draped in a plastic sheet.

"The family that owned it lived up here. Right now we're using it for storage, but my sister and I want to renovate this into a general repair center with low reasonable prices. You know they charge outrageously high at a lot of these new robot hospitals and private practices?!"

The boy shrugged, he was like a brand new robot. Realizing this, the doctor smiled and tried to put her temper aside. Even with equal rights, people were still looking for a way to take advantage of robots. There were still plenty of loop holes and gaps to fill in. He'd find out soon enough unfortunately.

She yanked the sheet away and rolled it up.

"Anyway, you can stay here. We can move some of this stuff around tomorrow and make it more comfortable."

The boy dug his fists into his kangaroo pocket, raising his shoulders as he looked around.

"It looks fine to me."

"You could be here a while," Dr. Nakamura insisted, frowning sadly. "I'll do the best I can to help you find out who you are and where you came from. In the meantime though, there's a few things we need to work out."

"Like what?" asked the boy.

"For starters, a name. We've got to call you _something_," she said, setting the suede pillow on the chair.

As she rummaged through the boxes, she asked, "What would you like us to call you?"

Without having to look back at him, she knew he was shrugging again.

"Well, I knew this kid named Jun in middle school. You sort of remind me of him."

"That sounds good."

Finding what she was looking for, she said: "Next there's the issue of reimbursement."

She pulled a blue throw blanket out of a large crate, and then threw it over the chair.

"You can do some work for the clinic to pay for the energy tubes. Like cleaning and running errands."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good, we'll fix this place up tomorrow. It'll do until we can arrange something more permanent."

Dr. Nakamura looked back at him and patted the chair, a cue for him to lay down. Nervously he went over and did so. Then she covered him with the blanket and tucked it in around him.

It was so slight she barely noticed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his arm flinch when she lightly pushed the blanket under it. That let her know right then. This boy remembered more than he was telling.

Gently fluffing the pillow behind his head, she said goodnight.

"See you in the morning," she added from the door. "Would you like the light on?"

Timidly, with a fragile voice, he replied, "Yes."

With a nod she gave him a little sad smile before she left for the night.

* * *

><p>On the drive home, an uneasiness grew heavy inside Dr. Ochanomizu's stomach. Obviously he had high hopes that the robot could tell them where Atom was, or at least relate the condition she'd last seen him in. If she had seen him at all.<p>

On the other hand, she could know whole story behind his kidnapping, and not tell them a thing. Having the inspector present when he reactivated her, with his irascible personality and pertinacious skepticism about robots, probably wouldn't help much.

These days it's illegal to hack into a robot's memory without consent. You couldn't even get a warrant for it. Even if they were suspected criminals. Presently there were very few and none proven. All this left them with was a good old-fashioned interrogation.

Later, at nine o'clock in the morning, they'd flip the switch. It was already five now. Sleep would be hard to come by in those four hours.

Nearly all the lights were out when he came home. He found Uran asleep on the couch. Nora had powered down beside her.

It was the first time he'd seen her sleep in weeks. Unable to stand the thought of waking the poor child, he decided not to move her.

On aching, throbbing feet, he went to pull the blanket over her shoulders. Then he lightly kissed her forehead.

She moved a little, curling up into the pillow she was leaning against.

The twinkle of the Christmas tree lights gleamed across her scalp, and sparkled in her long metal lashes.

That's when he took notice of the mess on the coffee table. It was hidden under colorful layers of wrapping paper, bows and ribbons. Apparently she'd finished her shopping today.

The doctor's eyes drifted from there to the Christmas tree, underneath where the presents were laid. He saw the one she'd wrapped with Atom's name on it, making it too difficult to linger there.

"Good night," Dr. Ochanomizu whispered as he tiptoed to the stairs.

On the way to his room, he had to pass by Atom's. The door was open, filled with the soft glow of the lamp on his bedside table.

For some reason Dr. Ochanomizu's feet took root in front of it.

It was most likely due to the lack of sleep, but for a moment he thought he saw Atom in there. Sadly he realized it was only a shadow, distinguishing the spark of hope that lit up his tired spirit. When the dim illusion vanished, it uncovered the toys that had tricked his exhausted mind.

He leaned heavily against the door frame, his throat burning. As he covered his eyes with his arm, tears falling off his chin, he said: "I can't stand this."

For a long time he stayed there like that, his heart breaking wide open.

* * *

><p>It was nine before he knew it. Even though the whole point of going home was to catch a few winks, he didn't sleep.<p>

Dr. Ochanomizu sat tensely at the control panel. Everything was ready. His staff stood at their stations, silent and anxious, waiting for inspector Tawashi to arrive.

The doctor was tempted to go on ahead without him, and make the poor excuse that it happened by accident. However Tawashi was not a man easily fooled.

Finally he came with Delta at half past, explaining that he had to take care of some business that couldn't wait. Without any greetings, Dr. Ochanomizu began the process.

It didn't take long. As the cables were feeding energy into her body, the girl began opening her gold eyes.

Amazingly similar to some human children, she woke drowsily rubbing her palms over her eyes. In what felt like a split second, she snapped into full consciousness. Immediately she sat up, looking over every inch of the lab.

"Where am I? Where's papa?" she asked, hugging her legs tightly.

Her voice was small and sweet. Although afraid in tone, her eyes boldly looked for answers in the men and women around her.

Soon enough she set her eyes on Dr. Ochanomizu. A look of recognition relaxed her worried expression.

"You're... You're Dr. Ochanomizu," she said, pointing straight at his large nose.

Then she lowered her finger, looking around the room again.

"Is Atom here?"

As if a fire had been lit underneath his seat, Dr. Ochanomizu jumped out of his chair and dashed towards her.

"You've seen Atom?!" he blurted out, unable to contain himself any longer.

The girl smiled kindly at him. She nodded once with a short reply.

"Yep."


End file.
